


Seconds

by infinite_diversity



Series: Dark Silence [1]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Angst, Dilaudid, Drug Abuse, F/M, Fear and Loathing, Friendship, Heroin, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Revelations, The Big Game, Tobias Hankel - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-21
Updated: 2011-10-21
Packaged: 2017-11-16 18:21:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/542458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infinite_diversity/pseuds/infinite_diversity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of 'Revelations', the team spends a night in a hotel in Georgia. Reid is close to an emotional breakdown, and JJ tries to help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Seconds

JJ and the rest of the team had gathered on the empty street. It was pitch-black around them, and the humid air seemed unusually cold considering that they were in Georgia. For once, JJ didn’t feel in control of the situation. She had no idea what would happen now. Were they going to fly home immediately or were they going to stay here one more night? 

She felt empty and shaken. Their desperate search for Tobias Hankel was over; the adrenaline was gone. For two days, nobody had thought about anything else. For two days, nobody had slept, all of them watching the dozens of computer screens in Hankel’s room in horror. 

And now it was over. And yet of course JJ knew that the relief was only temporary. There would be new cases to come. There would be more blood; there would be new religious fanatics. And this case would not be forgotten easily. 

She leant her body against the Suburban, shivering in the cold. Before she could sink into her dark thoughts any deeper, Gideon emerged from the forest with Reid. JJ’s heart fell at his sight. In the middle of the graveyard where they had found the young doctor she hadn’t been able to see a lot, but now the scenery was dimly lit by a lonely streetlight.

Reid looked… exhausted. Terribly tired and worn. He was walking with a bad limp, and his pants were covered in soil. His arms were crossed in front of his abdomen. And JJ could only imagine how cold he had to be in his thin shirt and sweater vest. When he staggered a little, she felt the urge to rush over and hug him again.

Instead, Morgan came over and softly touched Reid’s arm.

“Hey, Kid.”

Reid looked up and managed a small smile for his best friend. JJ felt a sweet ache in her chest when Morgan took of his black leather jacket and put it around Reid’s shoulders. 

“Kid, listen, you’re gonna be alright. We’re gonna get you out of here.”

Gratefully, the brunette wrapped the over-sized jacket around his shivering shape. Hotch came over from were he was standing next to his SUV.

“Reid, do you want us to call an ambulance?”

After thinking for a second, Reid shook his head. A little hoarsely, he asked, “Do we have a hotel or are we flying home right now?”

“We have a hotel in Atlanta. Garcia is already there. I believe we should all get some rest before making our way back,” Hotch answered.

JJ couldn’t help but silently admire the firm grip Hotch always seemed to have on any situation. No matter what happened, Hotch stayed calm and realistic. Like Reid usually did, too, he somehow managed not to get caught up in his emotions. In his profession, this was more than useful, but JJ understood why his wife Haley had divorced him.  
She had no idea when he had organized hotel rooms for all of them, or why he had done it himself instead of asking her.

With a smile that was supposed to loosen the situation a little but in fact only looked desperate, JJ said, “Let’s get going, then.”

They had two SUV’s. Gideon, Hotch and Emily took the first one; JJ, Reid and Morgan the second. Morgan offered to drive, and JJ sat in the back with Reid. The result was an awkward silence. Nobody knew what to say. JJ wanted to tell Reid how glad she was that they had found him, that it was over, and how sorry she was for everything that had happened. But she couldn’t. 

In the front, Morgan felt the same. The silence, the darkness and the dull humming of the engine created an atmosphere he didn’t want to destroy. Still, the heated air was heavy with unsaid words of comfort and apology. Morgan was already playing with the thought of turning the radio on, just to break the silence. When he looked in the rearview window, he smiled. Reid had already fallen asleep, his head resting on JJ’s shoulder.

JJ was overflowing with emotion while Reid was leaning against her. He seemed incredibly vulnerable, and again, she wanted to hug him tightly. Instead, she softly brushed a streak of long brown hair out of his face. She looked at Morgan’s jacket that Reid was wearing and felt another painful twinge in her heart when she realized that the BAU were the first people ever to really take care of the young genius.  
JJ had met his mother and, of course, she couldn’t blame the mentally ill woman for anything. She clearly loved her son, but it wasn’t hard to see that she hadn’t been able to give him the affection and protection he needed. He had taken care of her instead of the other way round.

Ignoring any protocol, she carefully put her arm around Reid’s shoulders. This funny, incredibly intelligent lovable young man did not deserve what had happened to him over the last two days. She pulled him tighter and softly laid her head onto his. She suddenly had the urge to just keep him as close as possible, and she wanted to give him all the comfort she had to offer.


End file.
